Abel Braga, the Al Jazira coach, has made a plea to the match officials to allow players to have longer breaks for water during stoppage times in order to recover when playing in such humid weather conditions as Jazira's opening match against Al Nasr on Friday.
"It affects their game as well as their health," said Braga "The referee should consider the harsh weather conditions they have to play and allow the players to take a little more time for them to have water whenever there is a stoppage during play.
"This is a common practice in Brazil on conditions not even half as humid as in the Emirates. I don't see why they must push the players without any respite. It is so hard even to watch the match from the touchline, so imagine the plight of the players."
Jazira still went on to win 3-0 at the Mohammed bin Zayed Stadium and set the early pace in the Pro League table.
"It is a good result and a good start, but we have a long road ahead." Braga said. "The players gave 100 per cent and I wish they can continue and build from the strong start."
Helios dos Anjos, the Nasr coach, was gracious in defeat and admitted they were outplayed by a better team on the night.
"We started well and could have scored first, but that didn't happen. We conceded the first goal because of a defensive error. But Jazira came with a strong second-half performance and we were pushed to a defensive position."
